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France and the UK would make great allies against a “predatory” Trump, Chrystia Freeland has said

Former Canadian deputy PM and foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, has called on Ottawa to turn to European nuclear powers for deterrence against a “predatory” United States. Freeland made the suggestion on Wednesday during debates for the leadership of the country’s Liberal Party.

The former FT Moscow correspondent, who is seeking to succeed Justin Trudeau following the party’s recent electoral slump, characterized recent comments by US President Donald Trump, in which he questioned Canada’s statehood, as a national security threat.

”What is different about this unleashed and empowered President Trump is he is clearly threatening our sovereignty and we need to respond,” she said. “The US is turning predator, and so what Canada needs to do is work closely with our democratic allies, our military allies.”

Chrystia Freeland says Canada needs to acquire nuclear weapon capability to protect against its bigger neighbour. So she's running the same playbook that got Ukraine invaded. Very bold, let's see how it plays out.pic.twitter.com/nuxxl2EeJH

— Brian damage (@TradNorm) February 27, 2025

𝔹𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝕕𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕖

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Scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China have discovered a new lineage of a coronavirus in bats that can enter human cells in a similar fashion as SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, according to a recently published study. But there are no reported infections in humans, and experts say it’s not currently a threat to public health.

Like SARS-CoV-2, HKU5-CoV-2 can enter cells via the human ACE2 receptor protein on cell surfaces. The newly identified coronavirus is a part of the same family as the virus that causes deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS.

According to the study, published last week in the journal Cell, scientists found the coronavirus in anal swab samples taken from a bat of the genus Pipistrellus. A lab experiment showed that the virus could infect human cells.

HKU5-CoV-2 can already infect human cells and is related to a virus with a 30% fatality rate. Now, researchers want to test it on humanized mice – because that worked out so well last time.

Dr. Alina Chan, a molecular biologist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, called the plans “ominous,” warning that WIV’s biosafety measures are a joke, yet, here they are, playing with fire again. What could possibly go wrong? This just needs to stop!

Um … what?

Is this definitely real? If so, very concerning. https://t.co/YRmRBDUkdR

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 27, 2025

𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕠 ℕ𝕒𝕨𝕗𝕒𝕝

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US health officials are reevaluating a $590 million contract for bird flu shots that the Biden administration awarded to Moderna Inc., people familiar with the matter said.

The review is part of a government push to examine spending on messenger RNA-based vaccines, the technology that powered Moderna’s Covid vaccine. The bird flu shot contract was awarded to Moderna in the Biden administration’s final days, sending the company’s stock up 13% in the two days following the Jan. 17 announcement.

Shares of Moderna fell as much as 4.9% in trading before US markets openedThursday. The company didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The US is in the midst of a record-breaking bird flu outbreak that’s affected dozens of cattle herds along with poultry flocks nationwide, sending egg pricessoaring. While human cases have been relatively rare, the virus has caused deaths in the past, and experts are concerned that it could become more transmissible and dangerous.

🕊️BIRD FLU SHOT UNDER REVIEW
— Trump may halt Moderna bird flu shot funding
— HHS needs to “review” due to 'oversight'
— CDC says bird flu has LOW RISK to the public
— Moderna's shares drop 5.5%
— Pfizer falling, felt to be volatile

Maybe shots aren’t such a good investment.… pic.twitter.com/9Gd9r01Lfb

— ✝️ Dr Margaret Aranda Ferrante, MD PhD FACFEI ♿️ (@TheRebelPatient) February 27, 2025

𝔻𝕣 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕥 𝔸𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕒 𝔽𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕖

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As his first major action as Secretary of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr. has ordered an immediate suspension for all actions related to the Vaxart oral covid shot, moments before 10,000 Americans were about to begin testing the vaccine.

This follows a 90-day stop-work order issued Friday to Vaxart, halting the Biden era Project NextGen initiative, funded through a $4.7 billion Strategic Pandemic Preparedness Grant with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), saving the American taxpayers $230 Million! RFK:

“While it is crucial that the Department [of] Health and Human Services (HHS) support pandemic preparedness, four years of the Biden administration’s failed oversight have made it necessary to review agreements for vaccine production, including Vaxart’s. I look forward to working with Vaxart and medical experts to ensure this work produces safe, effective, and fiscal-minded vaccine technology.”

Vaxart will be required to monitor the few individuals who took part in an initial round of trials, to ensure they do not suffer from any extreme side effects.

The announcement comes just under two weeks after Kennedy was confirmed and sworn in as the nation’s 26th chief of HHS. The same day he was sworn in, President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating the Make America Healthy Again Commission, which is led by Kennedy to investigate and address “the root causes of America’s escalating health crisis.” 

🚨 BREAKING: RFK HALTS NEW COVID VACCINE 👊 💥

SAVES THOUSANDS BY IMMEDIATELY ENDING DANGEROUS HUMAN TRIALS

As his first major action as Secretary of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr. has ordered an immediate suspension for all actions related to the Vaxart oral covid shot,… pic.twitter.com/7EDuuLhxxF

— Died Suddenly (@DiedSuddenly_) February 26, 2025

𝔻𝕚𝕖𝕕 𝕊𝕦𝕕𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕝𝕪

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An unknown illness has killed over 50 people in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to doctors in the central African nation and the World Health Organization.

The interval between the onset of symptoms and death has been just 48 hours in the majority of cases, and “that’s what’s really worrying,” Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring center, told The Associated Press on Monday.  

The latest disease outbreak in Congo began on Jan. 21, and 419 cases had been recorded as of Monday, including 53 deaths.

According to the WHO’s Africa office, the first outbreak in the town of Boloko began after three children ate a bat and died within 48 hours following hemorrhagic fever symptoms.

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Calin Georgescu’s election victory was annulled last year over allegations of illegal activities related to campaign financing

Romanian police have arrested Calin Georgescu, the front-runner in last year’s annulled presidential election, and conducted dozens of raids on his supporters and people tied to his campaign, local media reported on Wednesday.

A critic of NATO and the EU and an opponent of sending aid to Ukraine, Georgescu made headlines in November last year when he unexpectedly garnered 23% of the vote in the first round of the presidential election in Romania. However, the Constitutional Court annulled the results shortly before the second round, citing intelligence documents alleging ‘irregularities’ in his campaign.

Georgescu’s communications team has said on Facebook that he was arrested just as he was about to submit his new candidacy for the presidency.

🚨🇷🇴 EXCLUSIVE: CALIN GEORGESCU'S MESSAGE AS HE IS ARRESTED

Two hours before our second interview and minutes after we spoke, I get a chilling phone call from the man Romania voted to be President.

"MARIO, THE POLICE IS HERE ARRESTING ME ON THE STREETS. I CANNOT DO THE… https://t.co/dkciJHVHZs pic.twitter.com/EoY22UnJCg

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 26, 2025

𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕠 ℕ𝕒𝕨𝕗𝕒𝕝

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Washington had long been warned about the risks associated with Kiev’s NATO bid but reportedly decided to push forward

Washington and its European allies have long been fully aware that their policy of encouraging Kiev’s NATO ambitions could lead to dire consequences, WikiLeaks has said in a video report, citing a trove of diplomatic cables it had obtained.

Moscow has explicitly warned American diplomats about risks of violent strife in Ukraine and instability for the whole region linked to Kiev’s ever deeper integration into the US-led bloc years before the Ukraine conflict broke out, the sources cited by WikiLeaks suggest. Paris has also warned Washington that such a policy could lead to war, while Berlin outright opposed the idea in the 2000s, according to the documents.

The report was provided by Magnus von Wangenheim, a German medic, who had spent “years dealing with WikiLeaks’ publications and the treatment of its founder Julian Assange,” according to AcTVism, a German NGO which he produces video reports for.

Paris points to dangers of war

Washington received one of the earliest warnings about the risks associated with Ukraine’s NATO ambitions from France, the documents analyzed by WikiLeaks suggest.

A 2005 diplomatic cable reporting on a meeting between then-US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried as well as several high-ranking French officials says Paris was worried about such a prospect.

“If there remained one potential cause for war in Europe, it was Ukraine,” the document said, citing French Presidential Diplomatic Advisor Maurice Gourdault-Montagne. The diplomat warned that Moscow already believed that the US and its allies were “doing too much” in Russia’s “core zone of interest,” and warned that such actions could eventually lead to a forceful response on Russia’s part.

Fried admitted at that time that there was no national consensus on NATO membership within Ukraine itself, according to the same cable. He still dismissed concerns about Moscow’s possible military response and a potential violent split within Ukraine over the issue. 

Russia warns of ‘uncontrolled consequences’

Only thing that can spark war in Europe:
WikiLeaks reports on US approach to Ukraine and NATO — RT World News
https://t.co/NqF440VAnb

— VIVEKANAND TRIPATHI (@VTRIPATHI) February 25, 2025

𝕍𝕀𝕍𝔼𝕂𝔸ℕ𝔸ℕ𝔻 𝕋ℝ𝕀ℙ𝔸𝕋ℍ𝕀

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Iran has placed defense systems around its nuclear sites on high alert as fears grow of a potential attack by Israel with US support, The Telegraph has learned.

According to information obtained by The Telegraph, the Islamic Republic has also strengthened defenses around key nuclear and missile facilities, including deploying additional air defense system launchers.

Two high-level government sources told The Telegraph that these measures come in response to increasing concerns about joint military action from Israel and the United States. The heightened security follows warnings from US intelligence to both the Biden and Trump administrations that Israel would likely target Iranian nuclear sites this year.

“They [Iranian authorities] are just waiting for the attack and are anticipating it every night and everything has been on high alert – even in sites that no one knows about,” one source revealed to The Telegraph. “Work to fortify nuclear sites has been ongoing for years but it has intensified over the past year, particularly since Israel launched the first attack,” the source added.

BREAKING:

Iran has placed its defense systems around its nuclear sites on high alert amid fears of an attack by Israel and the U.S. pic.twitter.com/fM7F7YiqXc

— Globe Eye News (@GlobeEyeNews) February 25, 2025

𝔾𝕝𝕠𝕓𝕖 𝔼𝕪𝕖 ℕ𝕖𝕨𝕤

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